As one of the most vocal cheerleaders for amalgamating police services, Simon Fraser University criminology professor Robert Gordon said such a service wouldn’t necessarily save taxpayers money (as the bulk of policing costs is salaries) but would ensure more efficiencies, such as improved sharing of resources and less duplication of specialized police units. (File photo)North Shore News
/ file photo

As one of the most vocal cheerleaders for amalgamating police services, Simon Fraser University criminology professor Robert Gordon said such a service wouldn’t necessarily save taxpayers money (as the bulk of policing costs is salaries) but would ensure more efficiencies, such as improved sharing of resources and less duplication of specialized police units. (File photo)Wayne Leidenfrost
/ PNG

An amalgamated police service in Metro Vancouver could be operational in three years if there is support from political and policing leaders, a regional policing expert says,

But history shows that could be a big “if.”

The hot-potato issue of regional policing returned to the spotlight Monday after the release of former attorney general Wally Oppal’s report into how a serial killer was able to lure vulnerable woman from Vancouver streets to his Port Coquitlam farm for years without being caught.

As one of the hefty report’s 65 recommendations, Oppal said amalgamating police agencies would eliminate municipal boundaries and reduce the chances of another Robert Pickton operating undetected again.

It is an issue that has been debated for three decades in the Metro area, which there are five municipal forces and 17 areas served by the RCMP.

As one of the most vocal cheerleaders for amalgamating police services, Simon Fraser University criminology professor Robert Gordon said such a service wouldn’t necessarily save taxpayers money (as the bulk of policing costs is salaries) but would ensure more efficiencies, such as improved sharing of resources and less duplication of specialized police units.

“You could set up a Metro Vancouver police service with all the bells and whistles within three years if you start tomorrow. It’s not that hard to to do. The big problem is the pushback from (police brass) and municipal politicians,” said Gordon, a former police officer.

Gordon said the province must take a leadership role, but fears the lukewarm response from politicians on Monday means little will be done on the controversial issue before the May 2013 election.

“Unless this becomes an election issue, I think this (idea) will gather dust on the shelf,” he said.

Justice Minister Shirley Bond said regional policing “deserves further discussion,” and NDP justice critic Leonard Krog said the idea “needs to be looked at very, very carefully,” but stopped short of endorsing it.

Bond did, however, add that the 20-year contract recently inked with the RCMP to provide policing in some B.C. municipalities does not preclude pursuing a regional force because the agreement can be cancelled with two years’ notice.

Oppal’s report said Metro Vancouver is the only large city in Canada without a regional police force. This patchwork of agencies contributed to the failures in the missing women case, it said, including poor communication and coordination between Vancouver police and Coquitlam RCMP.

“It is clear from the evidence that a regional police force stood a good chance of apprehending Robert Pickton much earlier,” wrote Oppal, a former B.C. Appeal Court justice who penned a different report in 1994 that also called for amalgamating policing.

“(The province) must move beyond the debate to practical planning.... A decisive step must be taken to break this impasse.”

Toronto was the first Canadian city with a regional force, and police from Ontario told Oppal the benefits include better equipment, staffing and specialty squads.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson strongly supports a regional force, arguing it would improve public safety and reduce the risk of cross-boundary mistakes.

“There’s a range of opinion around Metro Vancouver mayors and councils and the direction needs to come from Victoria,” he said. “This must be a priority now. We can no longer maintain a system that allowed that tragic failure. It’s unconscionable.”

Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu stopped short of endorsing Oppal’s recommendation, saying it is up to political leaders to do so.

“If we were to design the ideal policing structure for the greater Vancouver region, I don’t think we would design what we have now. But it’s our role ... to work the best we can within the existing structure,” Chu said.

He referenced a 2008 report prepared by the VPD and SFU researchers, which says the region’s current policing model has created funding and service inequalities.

Oppal’s report said the RCMP has taken no official position on the issue.

But West Vancouver Police Chief Peter Lepine said there have been major improvements in radio communications, data sharing and cooperation between police agencies over the last 15 years. It is “hogwash” to suggest one large metropolitan service is necessary to solve crimes that cross jurisdictional boundaries.

“To those who would say, ‘We should dump all these municipal police serves and go with one agency,’ I would ask them for the evidence that is a better model.” said Lepine, a former Mountie who worked in Halifax when agencies were amalgamated in 2002.

He argued Pickton went undetected for years not because of fragmented police services but because of a lack of leadership from the police managers.

But former VPD Det. Kim Rossmo said historically created separate police agencies are no longer realistic today, as criminals can travel on the SkyTrain through several cities within minutes.

Rossmo, now a university professor in Texas, said it is no coincidence most major metropolitan areas — Montreal, Calgary, New York, Los Angeles and London — all have regional police services.

“I really praise Commissioner Oppal for saying, ‘Enough with the studies, and let’s do this.’”

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